Accountability Will Be His Priority | News, Sports, Jobs

Editor, News-Register:

A false narrative regarding Ohio County Schools was recently posted on social media.

“A voter in Ohio County would be crazy to vote for any school board candidate who is a former employee of Ohio County Schools. These people bring zero accountability to the office and will maintain the dysfunctional status quo of the administration. Right now the board has a 3-2 majority of former OCS employees.”

First, let me clarify that there are only two former school system employees serving on the board. So if I am elected, there will still be only two former OCS employees on the board, since current board member Christine Carder is not running.

Apparently, this narrative was imagined and created by someone who would like to see the board majority changed in order to address “the dysfunctional … administration” and put additional pressure on them for whatever reasons. This individual ran for the board on that platform and did not secure enough votes from the Ohio County electorate to earn a seat on the board. Therefore, it would suggest that a majority of voters believe the current administration is not dysfunctional.

I believe Ohio County Schools is far from malfunctioned, and there are so many reasons and examples of the continued success of this excellent school system. Ohio County Schools has been at or near the top in student test scores in our state for many years. Since I have been in the system, we have been a beacon of pragmatic thinking and innovation in educating our students and running our schools, and that can be attributed to a very progressive administration that seeks ways to constantly improve and achieve. Continually assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our schools, students and staff members is what we do, and then we follow through with the necessary adjustments. That is “accountability.”

This false narrative also contends that as a former school system employee I can’t function in an accountable manner to oversee the direction of our school system as a school board member. I laugh at that logic.

My experience and wisdom will be key attributes in assessing the workings of Ohio County Schools. Would you want to hire someone to lead your business, organization or coach your team that did not have experience or the knowledge of the workings of your enterprise?

I was a principal for 15 years. That job required me to be the CEO of that school. I had to evaluate many things — students’ learning and behaviors, staff effectiveness, culture of the school, ways to provide innovative and new instructional tools and strategies to best meet students’ needs. I did formal evaluations for all my employees. I would do the same as a board of education member.

What is accountability? Accountability is a personal choice, and it involves answering for your decisions. As it pertains to the board of education, when incidents occur the administration determines what or who is responsible for the incident. Incidents can be the result of situations or events that are unimaginable or unpredictable. When exploring who or what is responsible for a problem, administration must be accountable by determining what the facts are to determine next course of action. Always blaming administration and saying they are responsible for these occurrences is unfair, because they may not be the responsible party.

Accountability occurs when responsibility is determined. Has the Ohio County Schools administration been accountable? Without a doubt. They have wrapped their heads around every situation and have taken actions based on the facts. Law prohibits administrators from making all of their actions public knowledge, but the current administration has been transparent.

A lot of the administrative accountability resolve is done with the school board, and I know that I will be accountable by determining responsibility and taking action to resolve any issue or prevent an issue from happening again — I always have.

M. Andy Garber

Wheeling

Candidate for Ohio County Board of Education